1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dental products and processes and, more particularly, to the fabrication of precision dental models, dental tools, dental appliances, dental attachments, and dental prosthetic devices.
2. Prior Art
A major purpose of the dental profession is to replace or correct damaged or deformed tooth structure or condition by fabricating and installing dental constructs such as dental appliances, e.g., artificial denture plates, bridges, and orthodontic brackets, attachments therefore, and prosthetic devices, e.g., inlays, onlays, partial or full dentures, and crowns. All such products ideally (1) should be inert in the oral environment, (2) should resist the forces of mastication, (3) should be capable of assuming physiologically compatible anatomical configuration, and (4) should exhibit aesthetic qualities similar to those of natural teeth. Dental tools are not required to meet the last three criteria but must exhibit good strength as well as inertness to oral environments.
Present dental constructs are customarily composed of metal alloys, porcelain, amalgam, or acrylic polymers and combinations thereof, which do not completely meet the foregoing ideal requirements. Metal alloys and amalgam are undesirable in locations where aesthetics is a major consideration because they sharply differ from teeth in optical characteristics. Porcelain and acrylic polymers are either too brittle or too weak to resist masticatory forces in many locations. Composite structures, as in the case of an alloy substructure for strength and a porcelain superstructure for appearance, are extremely technique sensitive and are too bulky in many situations. In other words, prior dental constructs have been at best a compromise among the four ideal requirements.